Preamble
This Collective Bargaining Agreement ("CBA" or
"Agreement"), which is the product of bona fide, arm's length
collective bargaining, is entered into effective the 13th day of
January, 1995, by and between the National Hockey League, a joint
venture organized as a not-for-profit unincorporated association
("NHL" or "League"), which is recognized as the sole and
exclusive bargaining representative of the present and future
Clubs of the NHL, and the National Hockey League Players'
Association ("NHLPA" or "Association"), which is recognized as
the sole and exclusive bargaining representative of present and
future players in the NHL. The NHL and the NHLPA hereafter shall
be referred to collectively as "the parties". This CBA, together
with all Exhibits hereto, supersedes and replaces all prior CBA's
and Memoranda of Understanding between the parties.
Article 1
Definitions
As used in this Agreement, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:
"Accrued Season" means any League Year during which a
player was on a Club's Playing Roster for 40 (30 if the Player is
a goalie) or more regular season NHL games, provided that, for
the purposes of calculating an Accrued Season under this
Agreement, games missed due to a hockey-related injury incurred
while on a Club's Playing Roster shall count as games played for
purposes of calculating an Accrued Season but only during the
League Year in which the injury was incurred and a maximum of one
additional season.
"Average League Salary" means, with respect to any
League Year, the League average salary for such League Year
determined in accordance with the principles set forth in the
decision of the Arbitrator Nicolau in the average league salary
dispute dated March 20, 1995.
"Club" means a team in the National Hockey League.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the NHL.
"Compensation" means any money, property, investments,
loans, options or anything else of value, whether or not in cash,
that a Club, or any entity or person owned by (wholly or partly),
controlled by, affiliated with, or related to, a Club or any
owner of a Club, agrees to or actually pays, grants, arranges for
or provides to, or is obligated to pay, grant, arrange for or
provide to, a Player, or is paid, granted, arranged for or
provided to a third party at the request of and/or for the
benefit of a Player, including but not limited to, Signing,
Reporting and Roster Bonuses, Paragraph 1 Salary (base salary),
Deferred Compensation, agents fees, amounts to be paid in respect
of marketing, licensing and promotional arrangements, and any
reimbursement of costs or expenses in excess of the amounts
specified in this Agreement.
"Compensatory Draft Selection" means a draft pick
awarded to a Club pursuant to the terms of Article 8 (Entry
Draft).
"Currency Exchange Ratio" means, at any time, the rate
of exchange between Canadian dollars and U.S. dollars, as set
forth in the Wall Street Journal, as of such time.
"Deferred Compensation" has the meaning set out in
Section 9.5.
"Draft Choice Compensation" means the right of any Club
pursuant to Section 10.5 to receive draft pick(s) from another
Club, to compensate the Club for the loss of a Restricted Free
Agent.
"Entry Draft" means the NHL's annual draft of Rookie
hockey players as described in Article 8 (Entry Draft).
"Exhibit 5 Performance Bonuses" means performance
bonuses individually negotiated by a Player subject to the Entry
Level System (Article 9) and a Club for meeting or surpassing
criteria set forth on Exhibit 5.
"Group I Player" has the meaning set out in Section
9.1(b).
"Group II Player" has the meaning set out in Section
10.2(a)(i)(A).
"Group III Player" has the meaning set out in Section
10.1(a).
"Group IV Player" means a player who has never signed a
Player Contract and who becomes a free agent after having met the
conditions for a defected player in Section 10.2(b)(i).
"Group V Player" means any player who has completed ten
(10) or more professional seasons (minor league or NHL seasons,
but excluding any season in Major Junior), and who did not earn
in the final year of his contract more than that year's Average
League Salary ($1,642,590 in 2001-02), provided that such player
has not previously elected to become an Unrestricted Free Agent
pursuant to the terms of Subsection 10.1(b) or the terms governing
Group V Free Agents in any collective agreement preceding this
Agreement. For the purposes of the foregoing, the term "professional
season" shall (i) for a player aged 18 or 19 mean any season in which
such player plays in eleven or more professional games (including
NHL regular season and playoff games, minor league regular season
and playoff games, and games played in any European professional
league while under NHL contract), and (ii) for a player aged 20
or older mean any season in which such player plays in one or
more professional games (including NHL regular season and playoff
games, minor league regular season and playoff games, and games
played in any European professional league while under NHL
contract).
"Group VI Player" means any player who is age 25 or
older who has completed three (3) or more professional seasons,
whose Player Contract has expired and (i) in the case of a player
other than a goaltender, has played less than 80 NHL Games, or
(ii) in the case of a goaltender, has played less than 28 NHL
Games. "NHL Games" shall include both NHL regular season and
playoff games. For the purposes of the foregoing, the term
"professional season" shall (i) for a player aged 18 or 19 mean
any season in which such player plays in eleven or more
professional games (including NHL regular season and playoff
games, minor league regular season and playoff games, and games
played in any European professional league while under NHL
contract), and (ii) for a player aged 20 or older mean any season
in which such player plays in one or more professional games
(including NHL regular season and playoff games, minor league
regular season and playoff games, and games played in any
European professional league while under NHL contract).
"Impartial Arbitrator" means the person authorized by
this Agreement to hear and resolve specified disputes as provided
in this Agreement.
"Injured Reserve List" means the list of all players
who, because of injury or illness, are deemed by their Clubs to
be unable to render playing services to their Clubs for an
extended period of time as set forth in Article 16 (Reserve
Lists).
"League Year" means the period from July 1 of one year
through and including June 30 of the following year, or such
other one year period to which the NHL and the NHLPA may agree.
"League Rules" means the Constitution and Bylaws,
resolutions, rules, and regulations of the NHL (other than this
Agreement) and/or any official interpretations of any of them.
"Major Junior" means the Canadian Hockey League,
including the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and
the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
"Minors" means the American Hockey League and the
International Hockey League.
"NHL Minimum Compensation" means $125,000 (native
currency) for League Years ending on or before June 30, 1998, and
$150,000 (native currency) for the remainder of the term of this
Agreement.
"New Club" means any Club except the Prior Club (as
defined below).
"Paragraph 1 Salary" means the major and minor league
salary set forth in paragraph 1 of the Player Contract, or in any
addenda thereto.
"Player" or "player" means a hockey player who is party
to a Player Contract, any Rookie, Restricted Free Agent and
Unrestricted Free Agent, a player who having been party to a
Player Contract has not yet achieved the experience level or age
required to attain the status of a Restricted Free Agent or an
Unrestricted Free Agent, and any entity or person owned by
(wholly or partly), controlled by, affiliated with, or related to
such hockey player.
"Player Contract" means a written agreement between a
Player and a Club which shall include only the standard form
contract attached hereto as Exhibit 1 and addenda agreed to by a
Club and such Player thereto pursuant to which such player is
employed by such Club as a professional hockey player.
"Playing Roster" means the players under contract to a
Club who, during the NHL regular season or playoffs, are
specifically assigned to such Club, or who are assigned
temporarily to a club in the Minors for conditioning purposes in
accordance with the terms of this Agreement. During training
camp, a player shall be deemed on the Club's "playing roster"
only if he had been on the Club's roster after the trading
deadline in the preceding season on other than an emergency
recall basis.
"Prior Club" means, in any League Year, the Club that
contracted with or otherwise last held the playing rights for a
player for the prior League Year.
"Prior Year's Salary" means, with respect to any player,
the Paragraph 1 Salary paid to such player for the last League
Year of such player's most recent Player Contract.
"Reserve List" means the list of all players to whom a
Club has rights including all unsigned draft selections, all
players signed to Player Contracts (whether or not currently
playing in the NHL), and all players who have signed Player
Contracts but who have subsequently been returned to Canadian
Major Junior Hockey clubs. A Member Club may have on its Reserve
List, at any one time, not more than 90 players, which shall
include the following:
(a) Not more than 50 players signed to Standard Player's
Contracts and not less than 24 players and 3 goalkeepers under
contract. Age 18 and age 19 players who were returned to
Canadian Major Junior Hockey clubs, and who have not played 11
games in the NHL in one season, shall be exempt from
inclusion in the 50 player limit.
Any club violating this provision shall
be liable to loss of draft choices as
determined by the Commissioner.
(b) Unsigned draft selections.
"Restricted Free Agent" means a player whose Player
Contract has expired, but who is still subject to a Right of
First Refusal and/or Draft Choice Compensation in favor of his
Prior Club as described in Article 10 (Free Agency).
"Right of First Refusal" means the right of a Club, as
described in Article 10 (Free Agency), to retain the services of
certain players by matching offers made to those players.
"Rookie" means a hockey player who has never signed a
Player Contract.
"Signing, Reporting and Roster Bonuses" means any
Compensation, regardless of when paid, for signing a Player
Contract, reporting to training camp, making the roster or any
other activity not contingent upon a player's attaining or
surpassing a particular level of performance. Any non-cash item
of value promised or received as Compensation shall automatically
be deemed to be a Signing, Reporting or Roster Bonus. Any
Compensation for non-roster related services paid or promised to
be paid to a Player subject to the Entry Level System shall be
deemed to be a Signing Bonus.
"Unrestricted Free Agent" means a player who (a) has
either never signed a Player Contract or whose Player Contract
has expired, or has been terminated or bought out by a Club; and
(b) who otherwise is not subject to any exclusive negotiating
rights, Right of First Refusal, or Draft Choice Compensation in
favor of any Club (including, without limitation, players
referred to in Section 10.1 or 10.2(a)(iv) or a player who
becomes an unrestricted free agent as a result of a Club
exercising its walkaway rights under Article 12).